Admirals (formerly Admiral Markets) has sold its Australian unit to PU Prime, another forex and contracts for differences (CFDs) broker, Finance Magnates has learned. With this acquisition, PU Prime holds an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence.
Admirals Leaves Australia
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) registry shows that Admirals' Australian entity was renamed PU Prime Trading on 25 January 2025.
Admirals announced the sale of its Australian unit last December to a “non-related party” without naming it. Although the announcement did not provide many details, it stated that the sale was expected to contribute positively to the Estonian group’s net profit and “streamline its operations in alignment with its core strategy.” It further emphasised that the sale would “optimise its geographic focus.”
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An Offshore Brand Coming Onshore
Meanwhile, PU Prime, which has operated from offshore destinations until now, appears to be strengthening its Asia-Pacific presence with the new Australian licence. Founded in 2015, it already holds operational licences in Mauritius, Seychelles, and South Africa.
However, PU Prime has yet to onboard clients under the newly acquired Australian licence. The broker's offshore customer support also does not know when it will start onboarding Australian traders.
Admirals, on the other hand, is headquartered in Estonia and holds licences in the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Jordan, South Africa, Canada, Kenya, and Seychelles, apart from its home country.
Recently, Admirals started accepting new clients under its Cyprus entity after a pause of about ten months. “This decision is related to our efforts to comply with and adapt to the recommendations of the CySEC regulator and affects only our activities in the EU countries,” said Admirals' CEO and Co-Founder, Alexander Tsikhilov.
Finance Magnates recently reported that the Estonian broker ended the 2024 fiscal year with a net loss of 1.6 million euros, a significant improvement from the 9.7 million euro loss in 2023. However, the company's operations weakened, with active clients decreasing by 52% to 43,332. Its net trading income fell by 6% to 38.4 million euros, down from 40.9 million in 2023.
